Entree -- Seafood & Sausage Gumbo
Submitted by dvdlee on August 27, 2004 at 10:24 am

DESCRIPTION
Entree -- Seafood & Sausage Gumbo

SUMMARY
Yield 0 File under Misc. Recipes & Requests

INSTRUCTIONS
There is no one way to make gumbo ý so Iým going to give my gumbo recipe. Iým also going to give the ýscratchý homemade recipe, then followed with a ýquickerý version. Sources consulted were The Little Gumbo Book by Gwen McKee, Carrie McGee ý Folsum, Lousisiana, The Prudhomme Family Cookbook (compiled by Paul Prudhomme), Cookýs Illustrated and discussions with friends from Louisiana. I'm sure you're recipe is different, but this is a good start if you've never made gumbo before. Then personalize your recipe!

Gumbo is basicly a stew formed by cooking a roux (flour & fat), adding & sautýing vegetables, diluting with stock and then finishing by adding meat and quick-cooked vegetables. Gumbo is not spicy-hot (like Southwestern or Tex-Mex food) but ýyou should feel a medium to slight heat in the back of your throat after youýve swallowed a couple of spoonfuls.ý (from Marcelle Bienvenu & Vance Roux of New Orleans ý Iým NOT making up those names either!). Of course, gumbo is always served with a bottle of Tabasco sauce on the table so people can adjust to their own heat levels.

Now, there are two varieties of gumbo ý based on differences in the way the roux is cooked. (Roux in gumbo is not used as a thickening agent or as a basic of a sauce, the roux is cooked so it actually has very little thickening power but to create a unique taste that turns this stew into "gumbo".)

There is a ýlightý roux gumbo and ýdarký roux. I personally canýt stand light roux ý it reminds me of a thin cream-style gravy. Dark roux gumbo is more common, especially in Louisiana. Light roux happens when you only cook the roux for a relatively brief time ý maybe 15 minutes. Dark roux is cooked at least a half an hour, and longer (until it is almost black sometimes) depending on your tastes. Note: Roux can be cooked in advance and stored in the fridge for a couple of weeks.)

These are the ingredients I use. (dont' be put off by this long list -- most of these are standard stuff, and several options are given...)

3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 medium onions
1 large to 2 medium green pepper, chopped
1 to 2 medium ribs celery chopped
10 oz. of sliced frozen okra (thawed) - donýt use breaded okra for frying !!! LOL
6 to 8 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup (8 oz.) bottle clam juice
2 cups shrimp stock***see note below
1 to 2 cups chicken stock*** see note below
(1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, chopped by hand with 1/2 of the cans juice) optional
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon each of dried oregano and basil
1 pound of shrimp, deveined (shells saved for stock)
1 plastic container of oysters
1 bag of frozen mixed seafood (12 oz.) You can buy this in the frozen seafood section - a combination of calamari, fish, shrimp, and other stuff. You can also just use any firm white fish or crabmeat
1/2 to 3/4 lb. of andouille sausage (or smoked kielbasa) sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves (crushed or ground)
ground black pepper
1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
sliced green onion
gumbo file

Making the Roux
This is the tricky, time-consuming and slightly dangerous part of gumbo. So be careful!! (Itýs not that dangerous, you just need to be aware of some things.) You will be cooking the flour and oil a long time! It requires CONSTANT stirring. You donýt have to think about it, but you cannot stop stirring (talk on the phone, thumb through a magazine, watch TV, etc., but stir!). The roux will get EXTREMELY HOT!!! (around 500F), if you get any on yourself, IMMEDIATELY ice down the affected skin. The pan will stay very hot! It takes things a LONG time to cool down! Just think of it as molten metal and youýll be fine!

Place a cast-iron dutch oven or skillet on the stove. Heat on medium heat for 2 minutes. Add oil (all vegetable, or half bacon fat/half oil, or all lard - never any butter!!). Heat an additional minute. Scatter flour into the oil and begin stirring. Stir and Stir and Stir. After 20 minutes or so (still on medium heat) the roux will begin to color. Stir, Stir, Stir. After 30 minutes the roux should be much darker. You want the roux to be the color of a very very old penny - dark tarnished copper. You can continue to stir and cook past this point (thatýs how I like mine), but it has to be at least at the copper penny stage. If the roux burns or you see black chunks, the roux has burned and is totally ruined. Throw it away (after cooling) and starting over again. Reminder: You can do this days in advance and store it in the fridge.

The Gumbo
About the vegetables: I rough dice the onion, finely dice the celery, and cut the green pepper into medium chunks - The proportions should be 2 parts onion, 1 part green pepper and ý part celery (this are just rough proportions though). You can dice everything equal sizes or whatever you like. Frozen cut okra is often better than what you can find at the store, and is certainly easier!

After you have finished cooking the roux carefully remove the pan from the heat. After it cools a bit (7 min) add the onion, green pepper, celery, garlic, herbs, cayenne, and the thawed, okra to the pan (remove as much moisture as possible from the okra with a paper towel or two). Return to medium heat and cook until vegetables are crunchy-tender (there is still resistance, but they are almost cooked, around 10-12 minutes). Remove pan from heat. Gradually whisk in room temperature stocks (clam juice, shrimp & chicken), salt and pepper. Return to heat and bring to a boil (skim off any scum that might happen to form). Add tomatoes (if using), crushed bay leaf and sausage. Simmer for around an hour. Adjust seasonings. Five minutes before serving, add the mixed seafood and shrimp. Just before serving add the oysters (and their juice) and the parsley. If you are using crabmeat, add with the oysters, not the shrimp.

To serve: place rice in the bottom of a soup bowl, add gumbo on top. Have sliced green onion, gumbo file and Tabasco available.

To Make Shrimp Stock:
Take shrimp heads and shells (and/or fish heads or fish bones) and add to 2 & 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups of water (depending on if you use the wine). Add 1 medium onion, quartered (donýt peel), 1 crushed clove garlic, 1/4 cup of white wine (optional) & 7 whole peppercorns. You can add a little shrimp boil to the water instead of the spices/wine - but no more than half of what the box or can says. Bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes. Cool and strain. Boil and reduce to 2 cups if the stock is weak.

Chicken Stock:
If youýre not going to make traditional homemade stock (and who does??!) make this ýenhancedý chicken broth. (This is from ýHow to Cook Everythingý by Mark Bittman)

2 & 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (the aseptic box style is best)
1 small carrot, peeled & sliced
1 small to medium unpeeled onion rough chopped
1 unpeeled garlic clove
2 peppercorns
A couple of springs of fresh parsley

Place everything in a pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes. Strain & cool.

This is not as good as above, it will be almost as good if you use the chicken & shrimp stock amounts called for above.

1 cup of purchased Roux (Kains is a popular brand - if you can buy a pre-done roux things go much faster!! It is in a jar and there will be a layer of oil at the top of the jar, stir it in before measuring).
1 12 oz. bag frozen chopped onion
1 5 oz. bag frozen chopped bell pepper
2 ribs celery rough chopped
10 oz. of sliced frozen okra
1 teaspoon (plus) of garlic (you can use the jarred if you want to)
2 cups plain low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup (8 oz.) clam juice
1 cup water (more as needed)
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, hand chopped with all the juice
1/2 teaspoon each of dried oregano and basil
1 pound of frozen shrimp
1 plastic container of oysters
1 bag of frozen mixed seafood (12 oz.) You can buy this in the frozen seafood section - a combination of calamari, fish, shrimp, and other stuff. You can also just use any firm white fish or crabmeat
1/2 to 3/4 lb. of andouille sausage (or smoked kielbasa) sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves (crushed or ground)
ground black pepper
1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley

Place the purchased roux in a pot. Heat slightly, add frozen vegetables. Cook on medium until vegetables are done. Add stock, herbs, tomatoes, simmer for at least 30 minutes. Add shrimp, seafood and parsley, cook for 5 more minutes (10 if still frozen). Serve